BBC Names Russian Pop Star, Jailed Anti-War Artist, Journalist to Influential Women List

The BBC has named Russian pop diva Alla Pugacheva, jailed anti-war activist Alexandra Skochilenko and prominent journalist Taisia Bekbulatova on its list of the year’s most influential women. The Russian entries in the 2022 edition of the annual 100 Women list of inspiring and influential women highlight the “female faces of conflict and resistance in Ukraine…

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Latvian Decision to Revoke Russian TV Station’s License Sparks Fear, Disbelief

Latvia’s decision Tuesday to withdraw the broadcast license of independent Russian television channel Dozhd caused disbelief and anger among the media outlet’s journalists and soul-searching among other Russian journalists in exile. The Baltic country’s media watchdog said in a statement announcing the revocation that Dozhd posed “threats to national security and social order” following a…

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Belgorod Region Governor Announces Creation of Territorial Defense Units

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Tuesday that the border region is forming self-defense units amid Russia’s ongoing war with neighboring Ukraine.  “Literally from the very first days of the beginning of the special military operation, a large number of residents of the Belgorod region addressed the need to begin training and forming territorial defense…

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Russia Firing Newly Made Missiles in Ukraine Despite Sanctions – Research

Russia has pounded Ukraine with newly made cruise missiles in recent weeks, British weapons researchers said Monday, suggesting that production has continued months after Western governments imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow. The Conflict Armament Research (CAR) said its experts were in Kyiv on Nov. 23 when Russia fired around 70 cruise missiles. Analysis of two…

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Latvia Revokes Exiled Russian Station’s License Over War Coverage Violations

Latvia said Tuesday that it is revoking the independent Russian television channel Dozhd’s broadcasting license, citing “threats to national security and social order” following a series of infringements related to the channel’s coverage of the war in Ukraine. “Dozhd TV will disappear from the airwaves on Thursday, Dec. 8,” tweeted Ivars Abolins, chairman of Latvia’s…

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Ukraine Races to Restore Power Grid Post-Russia Strikes as Winter Comes

Ukraine worked to restore power on Tuesday after Russia’s latest wave of missile strikes caused power disruptions across the country, right as winter frost builds and temperatures plunge. Out of the 70 missiles launched by Moscow, “most” were shot down, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, but the barrage still hit Ukraine’s already battered infrastructure.  Fresh power…

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Kremlin Critic Faces 9-Year Jail Term for Spreading ‘Fake News’ About Bucha

A Russian prosecutor on Monday requested a nine-year prison sentence for Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin for denouncing Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Ukraine. According to the prosecution, Yashin, a 39-year-old former Moscow city deputy, was guilty of claiming that the occupying Russian military had been responsible for the massacre of civilians in the Kyiv suburb…

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3 Killed, Nuclear-Capable Bombers Likely Damaged in Russian Airfield Explosions

Three people have been killed and at least two nuclear-capable bombers likely damaged in separate blasts at two Russian airfields, state and independent media outlets reported Monday. Russia’s Defense Ministry has not yet commented on the alleged incidents, which took place hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Two Tu-95 long-range strategic nuclear bombers were damaged…

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Thousands of Endangered Seals Wash Up Dead on Russia’s Caspian Shore

At least 2,500 dead Caspian seals have been found on the shores of Russia’s Caspian Sea coast, local authorities said Sunday. Photos published online showed the mammals’ carcasses scattered across the beach. The Russian republic of Dagestan’s natural resources ministry said the endangered seals had likely died of “natural causes,” adding that laboratory tests will…

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Angry? Welcome to the Zoo!

Бешенство: rabies, fury The Russian language has lots of ways to describe getting angry, losing your temper, and flying off the handle. Сердиться/рассердиться (to get angry) is just so bland. It can’t capture the rage you feel when, say, you spend two hours filling in an online application, hit “save” and watch your work disappear…

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TikTok Videos Glorifying Wagner Mercenary Group Viewed By Millions – Watchdog

TikTok kept up hundreds of videos that promote and glorify violent acts allegedly committed by Russian mercenary group Wagner despite their direct violation of the platform’s policies, according to a new investigation by independent misinformation watchdog NewsGuard. NewsGuard’s analysts identified as many as 160 clips explicitly depicting or glorifying violent Wagner-linked activities on the video-sharing…

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Putin Says Strikes on Ukraine Infrastructure ‘Inevitable’

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure were “inevitable” as the Kremlin rejected U.S. President Joe Biden’s terms for talks and warned the assault would continue.  After suffering humiliating military defeats during what has become the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, Russia began targeting Ukrainian energy…

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Russian Ex-Billionaire, Politician Brother Handed Lengthy Prison Terms for Fraud

A Moscow court has sentenced ex-billionaire Ziyavudin Magomedov to 19 years in a maximum-security prison on charges of embezzling state funds and organizing a criminal group, Interfax reported Thursday.  Ziyavudin Magamedov, 54, built his fortune during Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency as the founder and main owner of Summa, a Russian holding that unites companies in a…

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Allies Say Jailed Belarus Opposition Leader ‘Getting Better’

Jailed Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, who led historic anti-government demonstrations in the ex-Soviet country and was recently hospitalized, is “getting better,” her allies said Thursday. The 40-year-old was part of a trio of women — along with Veronika Tsepkalo and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya — who mobilized large crowds against strongman Alexander Lukashenko in 2020.  She…

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Aeroflot Halts In-Flight Media Streaming Due to Western Sanctions

Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot said Thursday that it is no longer offering in-flight film, television and music streaming to passengers due to Western sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s military incursion in Ukraine. In a statement on its official Telegram channel, Aeroflot said foreign companies had stopped providing streaming services to the airline.  Aeroflot said the…

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Aeroflot Halts In-Flight Media Streaming After Foreign Suppliers’ Withdrawal

Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot said Thursday that it is no longer offering in-flight film, television and music streaming to passengers following Western sanctions and business withdrawals over the Kremlin’s military incursion in Ukraine. In a statement on its official Telegram channel, Aeroflot said foreign companies had stopped providing streaming services to the airline.  Aeroflot said…

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Pope’s Remarks on Russian Ethnic Minorities ‘Un-Christian’ – Lavrov

Moscow on Thursday described as “un-Christian” recent comments by Pope Francis that Russian ethnic minorities were among the “cruelest” actors in Moscow’s military ranks in Ukraine. “Pope Francis calls for talks but also recently made an incomprehensible statement, completely un-Christian, singling out two Russian nationalities into some category from which atrocities can be expected during…

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Russia Bans Public Discussions of Army Strategy, Troop Morale, Mobilization

Russian authorities have banned public discussions of a wide range of non-classified military subjects that activists say will effectively prevent the public from learning crucial information about the Armed Forces. The 60-point Federal Security Service (FSB) order, which enters into force Dec. 1, lists information that is not classified as a state secret, but which…

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Russian Defense Chief Calls for ‘Next-Gen’ Weapons Use in Ukraine

The Russian military should deploy next-generation weapons in its campaign in Ukraine, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday. “We need to continue upgrading and creating advanced systems with their subsequent application in the special military operation,” Shoigu said at a ministerial board meeting. Shoigu did not specify which types of innovative weapons systems he was…

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